Late Rally Leads Rice to 9-2 Victory at Middle Tennessee
4/22/2023 8:48:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Rice scored seven runs in the final two innings to turn a tie game into a 9-2 victory over Middle Tennessee Saturday night.
Parker Smith hit two of the first three batters that he faced. With two outs, Jeremiah Boyd singled bringing in Brett Coker as MTSU grabbed the early lead.
But Rice responded in the second. With one out, Jack Riedel singled and advanced on a wild pitch. Drew Holderbach then singled up the middle to score Riedel and tie the game.
Rice threatened in the third inning. Pierce Gallo hit a leadoff single. After Guy Garibay, Jr., flew out, Gallo was thrown out trying to steal. Aaron Smigelski then roped a double down the right field line. But, Connor Walsh struck out to end the inning.
In the sixth inning, Connor Walsh drew a leadoff walk and Riedel singled, knocking Middle Tennessee starter Jaden Hamm out of the game. Eriq Swan came on and got Holderbach to hit into a force out, moving Walsh to third. Ben Royo then bunted back to pitcher who threw home. But Walsh slid in under the catcher's tag to give Rice the 2-1 lead.
However, the Blue Raiders tied it in the seventh when Jeremiah Boyd hit a leadoff home run.
Again, the Owls came right back. Riedel lead off with a double down the line. Three batters later, Paul Smith laced a single to left field, driving him in for the 3-2 lead.
Rice opened it up in the ninth, as the first seven batters reached base. Gallo was hit by a pitch and Garibay doubled to deep center field. Smigelski then singled to right, scoring Gallo. Garibay scored on Walsh's double to center. With the infield in, Riedel laced a single to short, his fourth hit of the day, to score Smigelski and Walsh and force the Blue Raiders to make a pitching change. After Holderbach reached on an error, Royo singled to load the bases. Paul Smith and Jacob Devenny added Rice's final runs with a pair of sacrifice flies.
Justin Long went 2.1 innings, retiring all seven batters he faced to earn his third win of the year.
Up Next
Rice and Middle Tennessee will play the series finale tomorrow at 12 p.m.
Notes
*Rice improved to 5-7 on Saturdays and 4-5 in the middle game of a weekend series.
*The nine runs and 15 hits were both highs in league play.
*They were also the most hits and runs in a conference game since scoring 10 runs on 16 hits at FIU on May 20, 2022.
*Rice's seven-run victory tied its largest in C-USA play this year.
*Jack Riedel went 4x5, setting a career-high in hits.
*It was the second four-hit game of the year for the Owls.
*Riedel also tied a career-high with three runs and two RBI.
Parker Smith hit two of the first three batters that he faced. With two outs, Jeremiah Boyd singled bringing in Brett Coker as MTSU grabbed the early lead.
But Rice responded in the second. With one out, Jack Riedel singled and advanced on a wild pitch. Drew Holderbach then singled up the middle to score Riedel and tie the game.
Rice threatened in the third inning. Pierce Gallo hit a leadoff single. After Guy Garibay, Jr., flew out, Gallo was thrown out trying to steal. Aaron Smigelski then roped a double down the right field line. But, Connor Walsh struck out to end the inning.
In the sixth inning, Connor Walsh drew a leadoff walk and Riedel singled, knocking Middle Tennessee starter Jaden Hamm out of the game. Eriq Swan came on and got Holderbach to hit into a force out, moving Walsh to third. Ben Royo then bunted back to pitcher who threw home. But Walsh slid in under the catcher's tag to give Rice the 2-1 lead.
However, the Blue Raiders tied it in the seventh when Jeremiah Boyd hit a leadoff home run.
Again, the Owls came right back. Riedel lead off with a double down the line. Three batters later, Paul Smith laced a single to left field, driving him in for the 3-2 lead.
Rice opened it up in the ninth, as the first seven batters reached base. Gallo was hit by a pitch and Garibay doubled to deep center field. Smigelski then singled to right, scoring Gallo. Garibay scored on Walsh's double to center. With the infield in, Riedel laced a single to short, his fourth hit of the day, to score Smigelski and Walsh and force the Blue Raiders to make a pitching change. After Holderbach reached on an error, Royo singled to load the bases. Paul Smith and Jacob Devenny added Rice's final runs with a pair of sacrifice flies.
Justin Long went 2.1 innings, retiring all seven batters he faced to earn his third win of the year.
Up Next
Rice and Middle Tennessee will play the series finale tomorrow at 12 p.m.
Notes
*Rice improved to 5-7 on Saturdays and 4-5 in the middle game of a weekend series.
*The nine runs and 15 hits were both highs in league play.
*They were also the most hits and runs in a conference game since scoring 10 runs on 16 hits at FIU on May 20, 2022.
*Rice's seven-run victory tied its largest in C-USA play this year.
*Jack Riedel went 4x5, setting a career-high in hits.
*It was the second four-hit game of the year for the Owls.
*Riedel also tied a career-high with three runs and two RBI.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Long, Justin (3-3)
L: SELLS, James (1-3)

Batting:
2B: Garibay Jr., Guy 1 ; Smigelski, Aaron 1 ; Walsh, Connor 1 ; Riedel, Jack 1
RBI: Devenny, Jacob 1 ; Smigelski, Aaron 1 ; Walsh, Connor 1 ; Riedel, Jack 2 ; Holderbach, Drew 1 ; Royo, Ben 1 ; Smith , Paul 2
SF: Devenny, Jacob 1 ; Smith , Paul 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gallo, Pierce 1 ; Garibay Jr., Guy 1 ; Smigelski, Aaron 1 ; Walsh, Connor 2 ; Riedel, Jack 3 ; Holderbach, Drew 1
SB: Holderbach, Drew 1 ; Smith , Paul 1
CS: Gallo, Pierce 1
HBP: Gallo, Pierce 1

Batting:
HR: BOYD, Jeremiah 1
RBI: BOYD, Jeremiah 2
Base Running:
RUNS: SNIDER, Eston 1 ; BOYD, Jeremiah 1
SB: COKER, Brett 1
HBP: SNIDER, Eston 1 ; COKER, Brett 1
PO: SNIDER, Eston 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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